The Heretics(2017)
2017 · Chad Archibald · 87 min
A young girl is abducted by a man, who claims that a cult is hunting her. His goal is to protect her until sunrise but while restrained, the young girl falls deathly ill. While her friends and family search for her, the source of her illness becomes more and more apparent. She’s not sick…she’s changing.
Horror · Fantasy
5.0111 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How scary is The Heretics?
There's a queasy, trapped feeling running through this one, like watching someone you can't help slowly slip away from being human. Most of it plays out in a single confined space, building dread through claustrophobia and uncertainty rather than shocks. The body horror creeps in gradually, so the unease builds instead of hitting all at once. It's more unsettling and sad than fun, aimed at people who like slow, grim indie horror over jump-scare rides.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Heretics rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 20 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 60 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, uneasy setup gradually tightens into mounting dread before ending on a hard, sustained push.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.
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